| Bay Hawks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main sponsor | Easy LPG | |||
| League | New Zealand National Basketball League | |||
| Established | 1986 | |||
| History | Hawke's Bay Hawks 1986-2000 Mighty Hawks 2001-2002 Bay Hawks 2003-present |
|||
| Arena | Pettigrew Green Arena (Capacity: 2,500) |
|||
| Location | Taradale, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand | |||
| Head coach | Shawn Dennis | |||
| Ownership | Jeremy Bayliss | |||
| Colours | Black, White, Grey and Orange | |||
| Website | ||||
| Uniforms | ||||
|
||||
The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a professional basketball team represents the Hawkes Bay region in the New Zealand National Basketball League.
They play their home fixtures at the Pettigrew Green Arena in Taradale, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
Contents |
The Bay Hawks were established in 1986 as the Hawke's Bay Hawks. They struggled in the early years of the franchise having trouble attracting star players and quality imports mainly because of the appeal of the city based sides such as the Auckland Stars, Wellington Saints and Canterbury Rams.
After not qualifying for one playoff game in eight years the Hawks managed to break their hoodoo and for the first time in 1993 the Hawks made the semi-finals and received all round praise from those who had been suggesting in previous years they should be removed from the competition. The next year the Hawks continued their good form finishing third for the second straight year. It was only one year they had to wait and in 1995 the Hawks got their first taste of the NBL finals before losing to the dominant Auckland Stars. It was a huge transformation from a club struggling to keep their place in the league to a team who were genuine title contenders. The next two years in 1996 and 1997, the Hawks continued their playoff streak but lost comprehensively both times.
The Hawke's Bay side began their slow decline from the heights of the last five years. In 1998 and 1999 the side was disappointed with mid table finishes. At the start of a new millennium the side finished in eighth place out of ten teams. 2001 saw the Hawke's Bay Hawks become known as the Mighty Hawks but their did not reflect the name. At the time were the league was dominated by Pero Cameron's Waikato Pistons side the Hawks finished second last and the next year third last. The teams name was then changed from the Mighty Hawks to the Bay Hawks which they are still known as.
In 2004 with the likes of Australian Scott McGregor and local heroes Adrian Majstrovich, Paora Winitana, Paul Henare and Aidan Daly, the Hawks began to re-earn their status as title contenders. 2004 saw them lose after a second place regular season finish in the semi-final to the Nelson Giants 69-51. Majstrovich was the competition Most Valuable Player and CEO Jeremy Bayliss was named administrator of the year.
2005 saw the Hawks add United States born Willie Burton and American-Australian Dusty Rychart to achieve another second place regular season finish and eventually lost in a dramatic grand final 69-68. CEO Jeremy Bayliss was once again administrator of the year with Paul Henare winning another assists title and making the competitions All Star Five.
In 2006 Hawke's Bay won their first ever NBL championship with a resounding win over the Auckland Stars 84-69. It was Hawks player Willie Burton's, first ever NBL championship, after 21 years playing in the league. It was also Burton's last game in the New Zealand NBL. The Hawks tremendous season saw them dominate the awards night with Paora Winitana picking up the Most Valuable Player, Most Valuable Guard, Most Valuable Kiwi Guard, was a member of the All Star Five and was named finals MVP after an outstanding defensive show case.
On February 22, 2007, the Hawks played the 2006 ABA champions, the Geelong Supercats at Pettigrew Green Arena. This was a challenge match initiated by the Hawks as a battle for Trans-Tasman Supremacy. The final score was 84-69 in favour of the Bay Hawks. The 2007 season was another successful one. The Hawks made the final before losing the best of three finals series 2-0.
2008 was disappointing for the hawks losing to the Nelson Giants in the newly revamped quarter finals 78-75.
After losing Paul Henare and Paora Winitana to the Christchurch Cougars in 2009, the Hawks were forced to rebuild with the likes of Jeremy Kench and Jarrod Kenny. They surprised many with the side making the quarter finals where they lost to the Wellington Saints 80-75.
In 2010 the Hawks lost Jeremy Kench and imports Jamil Terrel (later replaced by Jon Rogers) and David Langrell would be forced to carry a huge load. The team lost to the Christchurch Cougars and beat the debutant Southland Sharks in round one of the 2010 New Zealand NBL season. They had another two wins and two losses in the rounds to come. They continued to secure wins and managed a playoff berth in 2010. A loss to the Wellington Saints meant they could not finish any higher than third in the regular season but their 11 win, 6 loss record should be enough to achieve a home quarter final spot.
|
| NBL Championships: | 1 (2006) | |
| NBL Playoff Appearances: | 11 (1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2011) | |
| NBL Grand Final appearances: | 3 (1995,2006,2007,2011) | |
| NBL Most Valuable Player: | Adrian Majstrovich (2004), Paora Winitana (2006) | |
| MVP Non-Restricted Player: | Paora Winitana (2007) | |
| All-NBL First Team: | Paul Henare (2003,2005), Adrian Majstrovich (2004), Paora Winitana (2006) | |
| Most Outstanding Guard: | Paora Winitana (2006) | |
| Most Outstanding Forward/Centre: | Adrian Majstrovich (2004) | |
| Most Outstanding Non-Restricted Guard: | Paora Winitana (2006) | |
| Most Outstanding Non-Restricted Forward/Centre: | Adrian Majstrovich (2004) | |
| Leading Individual NBL scorer: | Troy Coleman (2000) | |
| Leading Assists : | Shaun McCreedy (2000), Paul Henare (2004,2005,2007,2009) | |
| Coach of the Year: | Shawn Dennis (2004) |
|
|||||